Matt Ellis

January 09, 2012

Well, technically they're 0-1-1 but whatever. Looks like the team is going to have to find yet another panacea du jour for getting back to the win column, because anyone with an IQ above room temperature knows the Sabres' injuries have played a very minimal role in their lackluster performance of late.

Obviously injuries aren't irrelevant, but what's pissed off Sabres fans the most over the past month or so is twofold: 1) the club's propensity to place more emphasis on making excuses for losses than on finding ways to win, and 2) the front office's insistence upon pussyfooting around with a GM/head coach tandem that has overstayed its welcome while yet another (potentially salvageable) season washes down the drain.

As I've mentioned several times before, injuries are not the problem. No one wants to be without guys like Tyler Myers and Christian Ehrhoff, but players get hurt; good teams can accommodate short-term injuries.

Take a look at the D right now. The Sabres are absent Christian Ehrhoff and Andrej Sekera. If you plan to argue that Sekera is any sort of significant loss whatsoever, please pass the hooka now because I need some of what you're having. And Ehrhoff wasn't even on the team last year yet it found a way to make the playoffs without him.

So this year -- right now, even without Ehrhoff -- the Sabres' defensive corps has Myers, Leopold, and Weber -- all holdovers from last season -- only they've exchanged guys like Morrisonn, Butler, Montador, and Rivet for Regehr, McNabb, and Gragnani.

Would anyone out there actually take last year's lineup over the one that will take the ice tomorrow night against Toronto, even absent Ehrhoff and Sekera for now? I sure as hell wouldn't.

Injuries are not the problem. Hell, most Sabres fans would tell you that the reason the team got it together last year was because Derek Roy missed most of the season. If that's the case, what's the excuse now? That underachiever Tyler Ennis is still out? Please.

When Lindy Ruff has the luxury of making Zack Kassian a healthy scratch -- which, if you ask me, is just plain stupid -- you can't really bitch about injuries. I love Matt Ellis. Would that even half the team had his fucking heart. But the guy looks like a cat in a bathtub when he stickhandles, and you play him over Kassian? If anything, maybe try playing him in addition to Kassian and benching any forward not named Vanek or Pominville for a game or two. Gee, there's a thought.

Injuries are not the problem. However, Ryan Miller sucks. The forwards making $4 million a year couldn't hit a 25-cent whore with a roll of quarters in their pocket, much less the back of a net. Lindy Ruff allows/encourages soft play and from what I can tell has essentially lost his team. Blah, blah, blah.

So what cosmic events have conspired to cause this perfect storm of shittiness? Who knows? Probably a lot of things, and most likely many intangible ones at that. I've never been the kind of person to advocate change simply for the sake of changing, but you can't fix intangibles without changing the tangibles. It's already 2012. They're long overdue.

There's a reason a team with the third-highest payroll in the league can't win. There's a reason it doesn't retaliate against a team that runs its goaltender. There's a reason it refuses to lay bodychecks on an equally weak team that's obviously travel weary.

There's always a reason for everything. I'd love to get paid to figure it out if the Sabres would like to give me a shot. After all, I'd love the job security.

November 21, 2011

As I was lying on my couch back on April 21 watching reruns of the 2011 first round playoff matchups on NHL Network, I wasn't expecting to hear the best hockey quote of all time (well, save perhaps for the time Jim Schoenfeld called referee Don Koharski a fat pig ... hard to top that one).

Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher was at the podium taking questions after his guys had just lost in double overtime to go down 3-1 in their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Then it happened. You faintly heard a reporter ask Boucher if he thought the Lightning could come back to win the series. Boucher shot him a glare as if he was imagining blowing the guy's head off with laser beams and said (and I paraphrase), "If you knew me you wouldn't even ask me that question." He said he'd seen it before, done it before.

And then he said the one thing that made me an instant fan: "It's not about momentum; it's about desperation."

Apparently so. The Lightning came back to eliminate the Pens in Game 7 and went on to sweep the Caps in round two.

Notwithstanding the fact that I think that's a great quote in general, I think it resonated with me more than it normally would have because if there's one thing that consistently seems to be missing from Buffalo's game, it's desperation. Or, more specifically, 60 minutes worth per game. The Sabres always seem to be able to pour it on in the last few minutes when they're down 4-1.

Now, I realize it might seem a bit silly to complain about this right now. At the time of this writing the Sabres are currently sitting atop the Northeast division and are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 24 points, just one behind Philly and three behind Minnesota and Chicago, who lead the NHL.

Still, to me it feels like the Sabres have this statistical advantage despite their play, not because of it. Before you dismiss me as a garden-variety cynic, consider this: a mere two points separate Buffalo from eighth place Ottawa. That means that by the next time the Sabres lace up for a game, which is two days from now, the standings could look considerably different.

Yes, it's only November. There's not even any such thing as the "playoff picture" until February. But considering the recent games against Boston and New Jersey looked like "Men vs. Boys I & II," respectively, with the Sabres being thoroughly outworked and overmatched in both contests, I see their current 12-8 record as a bit of an anomaly. If Vanek and Pominville were starting as slowly as the rest of the team, these guys would probably be mired in last place with the Islanders.

Through the first 20 games of the season, the Sabres' outings seem to be going a little like my golf game. It never fails. I'll hit a monster 300 yard drive down the middle of the fairway, then shank the approach and five-putt. And, of course, whenever it takes me six strokes to reach the green, I'll sink my first putt. In short, if I could pick and choose my best shots from each hole and magically combine them into one series every time, I'd be on the pro tour.

And so it seems to be going for Buffalo. They've tended to start slowly, especially at home, and if Miller or Enroth have been able to withstand the first 10-20 minutes, they can usually pull out a W. And just when they finally come out of the gate flying and taking the fight to the opponent, as they did Saturday night against the Coyotes in Buffalo, Enroth lets in a couple softies and turns in a subpar performance.

Thankfully for the Sabres and their fans, these guys actually are pro athletes. While there's no hope for my golf game, these guys still have a sporting chance to learn to put together a full 60 minutes of hockey every game (Psst: I'd even take 55). Maybe it's true that Leino just has to find some chemistry with new linemates and Ehrhoff has to find some open lanes to the net. Regardless, it all starts with determination. And not just by Matt Ellis and Corey Tropp.

With injuries starting to pile up -- Hecht, Ennis, McCormick, Miller, and Weber are all still out and you know the news isn't going to be great on Myers -- it's gut check time for the Sabres. No better time to start digging deep than the rematch against Boston on Wednesday.